1 in 8 Iraqis dies before fifth birthday

May 23, 2007
1 in 8 Iraqis dies before fifth birthday

(05-23) 04:00 PDT Baghdad -- Hanna Yousef Tamer watches hopelessly as her
year-old daughter, Mahdi, writhes on pink sheets in a crowded ward of the Ibn
Al-Baladi Pediatric Hospital in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. The
feeble child cries and looks around the bustling room through hollowed
eyes.

Her body is wasted from malnutrition and dehydration. But with the hospital
lacking basic medication and intravenous fluids, doctors and nurses can't do
much to help Mahdi. And while precious drugs are available in pharmacies, the
little girl's family can't afford them. Tamer, 27, lost another daughter,
Roqia, in 2005 when the 2-year-old died of the same disorders.